Bob Schaffer: Where’s the Love?

So who gets to replace Allard? The Anointed One on the Democratic side is Mark Udall, who’s giving up a safe and cushy seat in the House of Representatives (Colorado’s Second Congressional District) to have a go at the Senate. Udall has amassed a fairly impressive progressive record over the course of 4.5 terms in the House, though I’m more than a little disappointed in the evasive, mealy-mouthed explanation he’s given for refusing to support impeachment.

The Republicans’ only serious contender at this point is Bob Schaffer. His resume is none too shabby. He’s currently a member of the Colorado State Board of Education and before that served three terms each as a state senator and member of Congress.

Yet the Denver Post reports that Schaffer is having trouble getting people to take his candidacy seriously, Republicans included. Many no doubt remember his catastrophic 2004 Senate campaign in which he got butchered like a hog in the Republican primary by Pete “Let’s Lower the Legal Drinking Age” Coors, who in turn had his ass handed to him by Ken Salazar in the general election.

But a recent poll shows Schaffer trailing Udall by a scant 36-35% margin, with 9% wanting someone else in the race and 21% undecided. That’s hardly cause for mass bullet-eating among Schaffer supporters, but there’s reason for concern. At this early stage you’d normally expect a fairly comfortable lead for the Republican frontrunner based on voter registration numbers. Republicans are #1 in that regard, with Democrats coming in third behind those registered as Unaffiliated.

In any event, this promises to be an entertaining campaign. Stay tuned!